India can cut SAF project timelines through refinery integration, replication: Honeywell

India can accelerate sustainable aviation fuel supply by expanding refinery co-processing, standardizing plant designs, and ordering long-lead equipment before projects become trapped in lengthy development cycles, Ranjit Kulkarni, ‏President - Africa, Honeywell Technologies, said Sept. 29 at the India SAF Conclave in New Delhi.

HEFA technology has led early SAF deployment because oils and fats are close to jet fuel in their physical and processing characteristics and can use established refinery and logistics infrastructure, Kulkarni said.

However, HEFA should be regarded as the best available starting point, not necessarily the optimum long-term solution for India.

The Honeywell executive pointed out that the country's ethanol and biomass resources could support ATJ and biocrude pathways, while renewable power could eventually create opportunities for power-to-liquids.

Kulkarni said India's refineries could begin with limited quantities of renewable feedstock in hydroprocessing units and gradually expand by identifying metallurgical, catalyst, hydrogen, and operating constraints. Refinery integration would allow producers to build initial volumes without waiting for every standalone project to be completed.

For greenfield plants, the schedule would directly influence project economics. Kulkarni contrasted the execution periods of around 20 months in China with timelines reaching five years elsewhere.

Developers often lose time by expanding the project feedstock envelope in an attempt to eliminate every supply risk before FID, he said. A faster strategy would select a proven plant size, build the first unit, and then reproduce the configuration rather than redesigning every project.

Government-supported insurance or risk-sharing arrangements could help inexperienced developers finance new technologies, particularly when project investment exceeds the sponsor's existing financial capacity.

Kulkarni also identified agricultural residues, ethanol aggregation, and preprocessing as areas where India could combine global technologies with local feedstocks.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed sustainable aviation fuel HEFA-SPK FOB Straits at $2,445/metric ton Oct. 1, up $15/mt from the previous week.